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The Russian government is one step away from essentially cutting its population off from the global internet. The controversial “sovereign internet law” passed last week by the legislature’s upper house needs only President Vladimir Putin’s signature to require online traffic to pass through servers run by the government’s internet regulation agency by 2021, allowing the Kremlin to much better observe and control what Russian citizens are doing.

This technology rollout was outlined in the department’s "Fiscal Year 2018 Entry/Exit Overstay Report." It states that in the next four years, CBP hopes to use biometric exit technology on more than 97 percent of commercial air travelers departing from the U.S.with the intent of catching people who have overstayed their visa.

The FBI still has not assessed whether its facial recognition systems meet privacy and accuracy standards nearly three years after a congressional watchdog--the Government Accountability Office--raised multiple concerns about the bureau’s use of the tech. Since 2015, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have used the Next Generation Identification-Interstate Photo System, which uses facial recognition software to link potential suspects to crimes, pulling from a database of more than 30 million mugshots and other photos.

Federal regulators are discussing whether and how to hold Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg personally accountable for the company's history of mismanaging users' private data, two sources familiar with the discussions told NBC News on Thursday. The sources wouldn't elaborate on what measures are specifically under consideration. The Washington Post, which first reported the development, reported that regulators were exploring increased oversight of Zuckerberg's leadership.

After years of ignoring the issue, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are suddenly engaged in a furious fight over enacting national legislation to establish basic online privacy rights for consumers. As with the crafting of much legislation dealing with complicated issues, legislators are relying on experts to help codify the consumer protections.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg oversaw plans to consolidate the social network’s power and control competitors by treating its users’ data as a bargaining chip, while publicly proclaiming to be protecting that data, according to about 4,000 pages of leaked company documents largely spanning 2011 to 2015 and obtained by NBC News.

Momentum is gaining in Washington for a privacy law that could sharply rein in the ability of the largest technology companies to collect and make money off people's personal data. A national law, the first of its kind in the U.S., could allow people to see or prohibit the use of their data. Companies would need permission to release such information.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is ordering the nation’s largest broadband providers to turn over information on their handling of consumer data as the agency launches an extensive review of privacy practices. Comcast, Verizon and AT&T were among the companies that received orders from the FTC following a 5-0 vote by the agency's commissioners.

As Apple unveiled its new Apple Card at a big media event Monday, the company touted what it sees as one of the credit card’s biggest selling points: a “unique security and privacy architecture” that uses a “dynamic security code” to prevent Apple from knowing the key details about the customer’s purchases on the card.

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